As Human as You Can Be
by NullmoonApprentice
Summary: This is about my once human life. It's time for me to come clean." This is a vampire/lycan fanfic. My story, my rules. This isn't your common super-powered creature story. They are all human. Just different. Rated M for Language and Sexual Themes.
1. Chapter 1: Human

Chapter 1

Human

Everyone is essentially human; our bodies change as we grow, some different than the rest.

I was strangely pale, but I fit in. I had a normal childhood. My parents fought, my brothers and my single sister picked on me for being the youngest. I played outside as well as inside. My eyes hurt when I looked at the sun. I hurt when I fell. I got scrapes and scratches from my childhood play. It was all normal to me and to those around me.

Like I said, a normal life.

At the age of nine, it changed. One normal day at school, an accident happened. One of my classmates fell down a hill turning recess. Only at the bottom of the hill was a broken bottle. A piece of glass was lodged into his head. At first, he felt nothing. Just his head hurt a bit from landing on it. He cried. He always cried in school. So it was nothing to everyone else… However, it was something strangely fascinating to me. I had a strange feeling in my nose and in my throat. Something smelt insanely good and I was suddenly thirsty. Shortly after this happened, the boy moved his hand off his head and looked at it. It was drenched in blood. He screamed, scared from seeing so much blood. I've seen blood time and time before. Why is it so different this time? Without realizing, I was at his side, staring at him. He half-hung onto me for support. The teacher told me to help him to the nurse's office. So I did. It was a short walk. I was still staring at his head, then his hand, both covered in blood. I didn't say a word, I brought him to the nurse's office and she rushed to us and took him from me. I twitched when she started pulling him away. The scent was almost too pleasing to have taken away like that. He stumbled a bit as she pulled him. His blood covered hand grabbed my arm for support. He regained composure and the nurse told me to hurry and wash the blood off my arm in the bathroom. I simply nodded and left to the bathroom. Once I was there, I found myself staring at my arm. The strange substance that seemed to have my complete focus was staring back at me. I closed my eyes and looked up into the mirror. My eyes were lighter. I had dark brown eyes my entire life. Now, they were a very light grey, almost silver. I was terrified at the sight I saw. It was me, why was I so scared at seeing myself? Then my nostrils flared. I was once again staring at my arm. Slowly, I brought it up to my face. The scent tickling my nose and sending my mind into a whirl. My mouth opened slightly, my arm slowly inching towards my lips. I felt my tongue sliding out of my mouth and touching the red liquid covering my arm. In an instant, my mind went from a whirl… to a cyclone of what seemed to be ecstasy. I couldn't stop lapsing at the blood. I felt a strange sort of high as I lapsed more. Soon, it was all gone. All of it was cleaned off of my arm. I was frozen in terror after I realized what I just did. I drank blood. I looked back into the mirror. I don't remember why I did, I just did. My eyes, they were their normal dark brown. I stared for a long moment, the water in the sink still running from when I first turned it on. I splashed some water onto my face and hands. I washed my arm and ran back outside to the teacher to tell her how my classmate was doing. He was later brought to the hospital and got some stitches and the day went on.

Little did I understand why I did what I did that day. I was up all night, thinking about it. I told no one what happened. How could I? For years I randomly thought about it. It either woke me up in a dream or I just saw someone with a cut from a fair distance away. The thought just kept coming back to me time and time again. Until, I had another incident. I was thirteen. A woman was hit by a car in New York City. I was on a visit to my friend Luke. I was waiting for him to pick me up when suddenly, a car screeched and spun into the woman. She was killed instantly. Everyone was in a panic, but I was so close to her… I was literally a foot away from her corpse. Blood splattered on the sidewalk, on the car and some on my clothes. I stared at her body. It was mangled and bloody from this sudden freak accident. I was then staring at her blood. I felt my tongue lick my lips. The smell was driving me insane. I felt the same as I did four years ago. Like I was all alone and no one was there to see what I was doing. I saw the other people around me, but it was like none of them were actually there. The only thing that stood out was the body. I tried looking away, but no such luck. My eyes were glued to the deceased. My throat was burning with thirst. I forced my eyes from the body and turned around.

This is where my normal life ended, and I was reborn.

Before me was a woman. A beautiful woman with long black hair what seemed to look like silk. Her eyes were a piercing blue. Her cloths weren't an eye sore either. She wore a black pair of slacks, business-like, a red button down and she had a black Coach purse slung onto her wrist. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties. My eyes were now locked on her, the smell of the blood was gone to me. To my surprise, she was staring back at me. Then she spoke in a low voice, I could barely make it out, but I heard her.

"It can't be…"

Before I could react, her hand was on my wrist and she was pulling me from the scene. I didn't know what to do. I was a thirteen year old boy being dragged away by a woman who seemed to have hopped right out of a model magazine. Before long, I was pulling at my arm, trying to escape her grasp. It was no use, her hands were rather cold to me and locked onto my wrist as she pulled me with ease through the crowd of people rushing to the scene. After about thirty seconds of walking, she pulled me into an alley. I opened my mouth to speak before her slender and cold finger was pushed to my lips, silencing me. Her eyes were now a light grey. Almost silver. My mind flashed to four years before. I her eyes were the same color as mine was all those years ago. Her light red lips parted to speak as her words were like music to my ears.

"Tell me my young lad, are you fascinated with the dead? Or was it the blood?"

Her voice had a thick Scottish accent, but it fit her perfectly it took me a few moments to regain my composure and trying to get my head on straight. She removed her finger from my lips as she lowered her hand let me speak. Bad mistake.

"Who the hell are you?! What the fuck are you doing? Why did you pull me into this alley as if you were going to rape me! I don't know who…"

Her hand clamped over my mouth, shutting me up rather quickly. Her eyes were now glaring into mine, making me frozen, and no longer speaking in fear for my life. She opened her mouth to speak once again and her eyes seemed to settle.

"Rowdy youngling aren't you? What's your name laddie?"

She lowered her hand again, this time slowly in case I freaked out again. I calmed down as I answered her.

"Michael Blanchard…"

I was so lost in thought. What was going on…? Was I dreaming? The woman cut my train of thought off with her musical accented voice.

"Michael?

She spoke like she was insulted. She then muttered something to herself, nothing I could hear. Then I spoke again.

"Who are you…?"

"Elaine. The rest of my name is unimportant for now."

She released me, but her eyes were keeping me frozen in place. I was terrified. I don't know why, but I was. Her eyes were like shackles on my body, making me completely incapable to defend myself. I parted my lips to speak.

"What exactly do you want with a kid like me?"

Her next action frightened me further. She was laughing uncontrollably.

"My my lad… I don't want anything in particular. I just want to know if you want to know what actually saw in the accident, the body or the blood pouring from it."

Her words made my eyes widen a bit and made my body involuntarily jump. She spoke once again.

"You wanted it didn't you laddie? You wanted to taste the blood."

Her words echoed through my head. I spoke without hesitation.

"Yes… but why do I want to?"

My voice was light and childish. I was too confused and scared to understand what was going on. I felt only a cold hand lift my head up and release me as I now saw the woman named Elaine backing away from me and turning on her heel to leave the alley.

"You are too young to understand it fully laddie. Keep living your normal life."

I was still confused, but my head turned to her and I asked.

"Wait, you are leaving? You haven't told me a thing. What about…"

Her head snapped towards me as her eyes were silvery again, glaring at me.

"Like I said laddie, you are too young. Keep living your life."

Her eyes settled and she turned as I asked one more question.

"Will I see you again? I don't even know you… but you have a lot to tell me about. I need to know someday."

Her head turned away from me partially away from me and smiled.

"I'll be around when your life becomes too hard to handle on your own. Don't worry, I'll know when that is."

"_Huh…? What is she talking about…?"_ I questioned myself in my head.

She then turned away and something dropped from her hand to the ground as she left the alley. I hurried to pick it up. When I looked back up, she was gone.

"_What the fuck!?" _That was my only thought.

I then looked at the object she dropped. It was a small metal cross with silver lining and colored black in the center. There seemed to be small chewing marks on the bottom part of it. Lost in thought I was brought back to reality by a hand smacking me upside the head. Being already completely freaked out of my mind I reacted by jumping up and throwing my fist at random. Instead of connecting to something, I felt my wrist being grabbed. A moment later, I found myself with my arm behind my back being twisted as I was stuck in a submission hold. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Why the fuck are you swinging at me for, boy?"

My head turns to its right to see my friend Luke holding my arm. He let me go and gave me his well known 'What are you doing' face.

"Luke? Oh crap… Thank God it's you…"

His left eyebrow raised as his head tilted a bit. I looked down to see my bag in his other hand. He lifted it to my face. I took it from him and we walked out of the alley way and back onto the street.

"Mind telling me why you left your bag out on the sidewalk by a car accident?"

I thought a moment, I didn't know where to begin with that Elaine woman… then again, probably not a good idea to tell him about it.

"Uh… I saw the woman in the accident get hit by the car, so I ran to the alley thinking I was gunna hurl. I must've dropped my bag in shock."

He shook his head as we headed towards his car on the side of the street. I followed close behind him. Luke had a rebuilt 1972 Ford Mustang. I don't know much about cars, but he had it completely upgraded, so it was really nice. He popped the truck open and I tossed in my bag. I headed up to the passenger seat and opened the door and got in. Luke got in as well and buckled himself in and turned on the car. I was freaked by the sudden noise. I just shook my head and buckled myself in. Luke then turned to his head to me briefly before back to the road.

"You okay kiddo? You look all shook up."

I nodded and replied to him.

"Yeah, just haven't seen a dead body that close in a long time. Freaked me out man…"

He sighed and ruffled my hair, well, what hair I had.

"Sorry kiddo, must've brought memories back. Huh?"

I shook my head and spoke again.

"No, just shook me up. C'mon, let's get to your house."

He nodded as he pressed the gas and we were on our way. I looked out the window to the accident as we drove by it. We drove down the road before we hit a stop light. I kept my eyes out the window. Then, a person at the end of the sidewalk caught my attention.

Elaine stood there with a kind smile and waved at me. I didn't wave back. I tried to pretend that I never met her and that she didn't exist. For the time the light was red, all I could think about was what she said to me. A few moments later, the light turned green and Luke hit the gas again. I shook my head and leaned my head back onto the head rest and closed my eyes. Before long, I dozed off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The Change You Can't See

Chapter 2

The Change You Can't See

No matter how hard someone tries to block something out of your mind, it always has a way to slip back into your thoughts. It's different for everyone. Some people see something that reminds them of it. Maybe they even hear a sound that reminds them of the thought the try so hard to purge from their mind. For me, those thoughts get me when I am most vulnerable. While I sleep, I am plagued with terrible nightmares. Contorted images of my past haunting me when I cannot do a thing to defend myself, nothing to block them out. Sometimes, the dreams aren't even memories. Sometimes they are images of what every person in the world is afraid of, being completely alone. Being banished from everything you once had.

At least, that's what I fear the most.

It has been two years since the incident with Elaine. I'm fifteen, turning sixteen in a few months. I'm now in my second military school. This one being down in Virginia in the middle of nowhere. I've heard nor seen anything relating to the strange woman from those past years. The only thing that reminded me of her was my dreams. It happens as if it is on replay.

The dream is of me, just wandering in the streets of New York City. I'm completely minding my own business, enjoying the grey skies above me from the recent summer rain. Then, my arm is grabbed as I walk by an alleyway. My eyes are covered and I am dragged away. All I feel are cold hands gripping my arms as I am tugged to this unknown location. Soon later, my eyes are uncovered, finding myself in a simple empty concrete room. I am thrown into the wall. Hitting the wall with a hard 'thud', I look up to see my captor. It's Elaine. She's wearing the same thing I saw her in the day I met her, but this time, her eyes are bright silver, glaring at me as she approaches me. I was frozen stiff, just like the day I met her. She walks towards me, her eyes keeping me where I am. When she reaches to me, she smiles, showing her teeth. They are pearly white, completely normal teeth. Her smile calms my nerves. Her smile turns into a devilish smirk. In a quick flash, her teeth a covered in blood, her eyes matching the color of the blood on her teeth. My heart begins racing, I can smell the blood on her teeth. I feel my nerves twitching throughout my body. She smiles again as she blows some air into my face. I feel the hairs on my arms stand up as her breath sweeps up into my nostrils. Her breath was not the only thing invading me; I smelt her sweet aroma along with the thick smell of blood drenched on her lips. My mind was spinning into a whirl again. She moved her neck up to my lips. I breathed in, taking in her scent more. I heard her voice slip into my mind, taunting me with her words.

"Take your first bite Michael… It's my job to feed you after all...."

My body reacted on its own. My lips parted as I felt my teeth graze the skin on her neck. It tasted sweet and my body wanted more. My teeth then sunk into her neck, grinding together slightly to break the skin enough for me to feel her blood flow into my mouth. My eyes widened as my arms grabbed and gripped hers to try to control myself. I felt the sweet taste of her blood lathering my tongue. My mind being gone, all I could do is keep feeding off of her. I felt my heart racing more. My body felt like it was trapped in simple bliss, the taste of her blood making wave after wave of pleasure surging through my body. Soon, I pull my lips away from her neck, having my fill. I feel a heavy burden being lifted off my shoulders. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as I look up, feeling a high from getting so much blood on one sitting. I lean my head back on the wall behind me and close my eyes; the cold stone wall didn't bother me at all. I was too far into bliss from the blood. Then I heard a sweet voice speak out.

"My turn…"

My eyes shoot open as I feel teeth break through my flesh, sending a wave of pain through my body.

"AHHH!"

I shoot up from my bed, my neck in scorching pain, feeling like it was torn open. I grab where the pain is surging from. My sudden screaming seemed to awaken my roommate.

"Yo, Blanchard! You alright man?"

My roommate, Max Rudy, was an easy kid to wake up and get up. Sadly, he always overreacted with things.

"I'll go get the Sergeant. I'll be right…"

"No… It's fine Max. It was just a bad dream is all…"

I spoke with a slight tremble in my voice, still shook up from the nightmare. I placed my head into my free hand. My other hand was still gripping onto my neck still. Max looked at me with his normal worried eyes and replied.

"Alright man… Try to get some rest. Okay?"

I sighed as I laid back down, facing away from Max as I responded.

"Yes Mom…."

Max chuckled as he lay back down and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. He must've been really tired if was asleep so quickly. I, on the other hand, was wide awake, just facing away from him the rest of the night, staring at the wall. My mind was lost in confusion. If I have a dream so many times… Why would it keep bothering me as if it was a new one? Also, why did I feel pain in my dreams…? I thought no one does.

For hours I stared at the wall, thinking about Elaine and what she said to me two years ago. For being two years ago, it certainly feels like I heard her say those words to me just yesterday. Ever since the dreams started up, all I could think about is what she meant by what she said… Her words echoing in my head all the time, the thoughts of her take up most of my time. She distracted me from my daily duties in military school, my homework, and my friends. I sighed silently as I was about to close my eyes. Before I could even do that, I hear the school wide wake-up bell go off. Max jumped out of bed in an instant, grabbing his robe to go shower and begin his day. I groaned in annoyance, realizing I was staring at the wall for a good three hours, depriving myself of the sleep I needed to carry on throughout the day ahead of me. I roll out of bed, grab my robe and towel, and I head to the showers. I enter the bathroom and grab one of the open stalls. Considering most of other kids on the hallway don't actually get up until fifteen minutes before breakfast, I had the time to enjoy a nice long shower. There are six stalls in each bathroom and twenty to thirty kids on each hallway. Fifteen minutes in the shower is an extremely long time to most people who are used to military school. I, a second year cadet, am one of those people who are used to military school. I close the curtain to the stall and throw my towel over the towel rack in the stall. I remove my robe and hang it up on the rack as well. I twist the little silver knob on the wall, releasing the warm water to pour on me from the shower head. After washing my hair and my body, I found myself leaning on the wall, letting the water hit my face as I day dreamed. Elaine was occupying my mind completely; it was never this bad before. All the showers were running. Each occupied by a cadet in my platoon. We were always the first ones in the showers; we woke up early enough to get there first. My roommate was two stalls down from me. We seemed to quietly claim a stall as our own over time. I was the last one from the door to the hallway; next to me was our platoon's athlete, Mark Ridge. I could smell his shaving crème. He was indeed shaving in the shower, for good reason though. I don't think he wants people to walk by his room and see him shaving his leg hairs. It was swimming season, so it made sense to me. However, instead of a normal morning, I hear Ridge's voice make a sharp noise on the other side of the stall wall.

"Ouch… Fucking razor cut me."

He normally spoke aloud, but that wasn't on my mind when he said that. A few moments later, I felt the scent of blood rush up into my nose, driving me insane. I clutched my head and leaned as far away from his stall as I could. The water drowned out my voice as I whispered.

"No… not now, not here…"

I looked down to try to distract myself. Instead, I noticed a red liquid oozing its way towards the drain I forgot was in my stall. I started to panic. The scent was so strong and tempting. Though, I couldn't give in here. How was I supposed to explain to people at school…? 'Oh yeah, I seem to have this crazy craving for blood. So could you not bleed around me so I don't BITE YOUR FUCKING THROAT OPEN!? Thank you.' I took in a deep breath. Dumbest thing I could do. I felt a hurtful burning feel scorched down my throat. I quickly shut the shower off, wrapped myself in my towel and left the bathroom in a rush. When I made it to my room, I slammed the door and released the air from my lungs. I was breathing normally. The smell was still tainting my nostrils as I tried to regain my composure.

"What the fuck….?"

That was all I could muster out after that. Why did so little blood affect me this time? It was a scratch for Christ's sake! Yet it stood out in the water, screaming at me to lean down and taste it! I stepped away from the door, holding my towel at my waist with one hand, and in the other was all my shower supplies. I set down my toiletries and grabbed a pair of boxers to get changed into after I dried off. I took my towel and quickly dried myself off. After I finished that, I threw on my boxers and a new, clean undershirt. Suddenly, my head began throbbing. I staggered over to my footlocker to sit down. I leaned my head into my hands, thinking the sudden pain would go away if I just relaxed. No such luck. The pain surged through my head, moving down to my neck where I would be bitten in my dreams. It burned. It felt like smoldering coal was being pressed into my neck. I closed my eyes tight, trying to not cry out in pain. Soon, the burning began to settle down. My breath was heavy as I sat there. My head was running with different thoughts. Yet one question was repeating itself in my head over and over.

"_What is happening to me...?"_

I was sitting. Just sitting there, lost in my thoughts once again. The entire world seemed to blacken around me the more I thought about it. A voice then called me out and snapped me back to reality.

"Blanchard! C'mon man. Get dressed and ready for breakfast. We've only got ten minutes left."

I blinked a few times before I shook myself out of it. I looked up to see Max. He was all dressed and ready. He raised a brow and looked at me with his worried look.

"Ya alright Blanchard? You've been sitting there like that for a good twenty minutes."

I nodded slightly. I then opened my mouth to speak.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Just tired from waking up so early. I must have dozed off from it."

Max rolled his eyes. He grabbed his coat and head towards the door.

"I told ya man… You should've gotten your rest." He said with a small smirk.

"Yeah yeah… Thanks for the advice mom. Now get outside before you're late too."

Max looked at his watch and shrugged. He then opened the door and began to walk out. He spoke as he left.

"You've got seven minutes left man. Get dressed before you are late as well."

After he said that, he left the room and closed the door behind him. I stood up and stretched out my arms, realizing how stiff they wore from sitting there so long. I didn't even realize how long I was just starting off into space like that. Max must've been freaked out a bit. I sighed and closed my eye briefly; collecting myself so I can ignore this morning and move on with my day and my life.

I wish I knew how much of my life was going to change in the course of the next couple weeks. However, the future is impossible to predict. At least precisely predict. I wish I knew ahead of time about what was going to happen to me. I wanted to know what was going on already. However, life is filled with surprises. After getting dressed and leaving the room, I wish I realized that leaving the room and going on with my day was going to start the long and spinning road of my 'normal life.'

Author's note: So, there is the second Chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I tend to have massive amounts of writer's block, so fire me a message or comment with ideas you would like to see. I tend to shoot ideas down a bit, so don't be offended if I don't use them. Though, if I do use them. It might be later than soon when I do. Thank you. Reviews!


	3. Chapter 3: There's Something Blue

Chapter 3

There's Something Blue Behind You

Mornings in my school are always when the strangest of things happen. It always happens either at formation or breakfast. On rare occasion things happen later in the day, but they aren't the sort of things that really faze us as cadets.

Breakfast was going to hold up to its reputation.

These series of events began weirder for me as the day rolled on, but we need to see where it all started.

Formation was without incident. We fell into our perspective companies and carried on our merry way to breakfast. We marched our way there and fell out into the mess hall for some chow. I mentally had my fingers crossed that nothing bad would happen at mess so I wouldn't have another mental freak out. The mess hall seating arrangements we like so. Alpha Company, our only female company in the cadet corps, was on the far right of the mess hall. Next to them was Golf Company. Golf consisted of the middle school cadets and their high school commanders. In the middle of the mess hall was Battalion Staff. They were the kids in charge. Pretty much they had pretty rank on their collars and they had support of the adults. After them goes Bravo then Charlie company at the end. Both were high school male companies. I was placed in Golf company. Great, I get to hear all the girls complain about how mean their adult officers were to them in the barracks.

After we all got to our tables, the Battalion Commander called us to attention and we all prayed before we ate. I simply closed my eyes. I have no real beliefs; I just know someone is running the show upstairs. After the prayer, we all take our seats. The mess hall suddenly became a place of conversation. Everyone began talking to each other as they sat and waited for their chow. Each table can hold a maximum of five people. Lucky for me, I only have four at mine. My table was located near the back of the mess hall. The table is made up of Max, the squad leader. Nathan Trent, a squad member, Andrew Polanski, another squad member, and myself, the team leader. We were third squad, second platoon. We didn't give much of a damn about anything except for our own duties. We weren't the best squad around, but we weren't known for being screw-ups. We all took our seats, killing time by talking to each other until it was our turn to get into the chow line. Polanski spoke up first. He had a thick New York accent; he was always the one to start a conversation.

"I heard we are getting a new girl in school today. Anyone hear anything 'bout her?"

Trent was normally the quieter one, but he spoke up next. He didn't have an accent I could notice, though he had the tendency to say banana incorrectly. Trent sat up in his seat as he began to talk.

"I heard she was outta country. Like she was from England or something like that. She might have an accent."

Polanski chucked as he spoke up again.

"Yeah, she might say banana all weird like you do Trent!"

Max reached over and smacked Polanski upside the head lightly. Trent and Polanski go way back together, so Max sort of made himself the designated older brother between them so they wouldn't get into any trouble. Polanski looked at Max with a confused look.

"What? I'm just screwin' with him Rudy."

Max looked at him with a raised brow. He spoke up, sounding dead tired. He always did this at breakfast. Must be the smell of the food that makes him drowsy or something.

"I haven't eaten yet… so I'm too tired to have you two going back and forth like a married couple."

Polanski and Trent both began to laugh a bit while I just let show a tired smile.

Polanski went back onto the topic of this new girl that was coming in today. He and Trent had this strange obsession with them. Sure, I liked girls, but I wasn't constantly thinking about them like those two were. Polanski spoke up again about the new girl.

"Rumor is she comes from some big money. If she's got the right looks, I wouldn't mind meetin' her mom and pops."

With that being said, Trent began howling in laughter. After a few seconds, he got his breath again and responded to Polanski.

"Yeah right. You know that means she'll have to talk to you right? Fat chance of that happening."

"Yeah yeah Nathan, I'd like to see you talk to her if she's a looker. I bet you wouldn't even get a noticin' glance from her." Polanski was quick to reply with that one.

I leaned over and smacked him upside the head this time. Max looked at me and nodded in thanks.

"C'mon! Why am I the only one getting smacked?" Polanski whined. I opened my mouth and replied.

"Cause its fun to hear you bitch Polanski."

Trent began to chuckle again. He spoke up once again.

"Yeah Drew, haven't you noticed you're the one we all pick on?"

Max reached over and smacked Trent upside the head too. Trent looked at Max with an identical look that Polanski gave.

"Why'd I get smacked?" Trent whined as well.

Max simply responded with a shrug and a smile. We all began to laugh, including Trent. After a few moments of us laughing, we hear the platoon leader shout over the humming of the mess hall.

"Second platoon, get in line!"

We all got up, walking over to the line to get our food. It was eggs over easy, sausage patties, and a biscuit with sausage gravy. Whatever the hell that was… I got the eggs and the sausage patties. After I got my food, I grabbed a cup and filled it with the water. I set the cup on my tray and I head out of the mess line. Being the team leader of the squad, I had to be the last one besides Max to be in line. It never bothered me, but what was to happen soon would make me wish I would be out of the mess line sooner. I held my tray of food in one hand as I made my way back to my seat. As I was walking I heard a loud clatter of metal and wood hitting the floor on the other side of the mess hall. I look over as I was continuing to walk to my table. It was two kids from Bravo and Charlie Company screwing around. I guess one kid pissed off the other as their perspective companies were prying the two away from each other. I close my eyes and sigh, wondering what makes people so stupid to start a fight which was probably over nothing. I make to my seat, hearing the girls' voices behind me chatter and whisper about what was happening. I took a seat, still watching as the two guys were being pulled away from each other by their leaders and now two adult officers joining the fray to calm them both down. Soon after, one boy was being pulled out of the mess hall, while the other boy was pulled to the back of the mess hall by the other adult officer. Polanski and Trent were both focused on the scene while Max had his head being supported by him arm as he was pouring sugar into his coffee, ignoring the scuffle going on. After a few more minutes, the normal chatter in the mess hall started up once again, the small fight being old news in an instant. Polanski and Trent turned back around and began eating their food. Max finished stirring his coffee. He lifted to his lips taking a sip of. Max was a pissed off zombie drone without his coffee. He always seemed fine when we first wake up, but when we get to the mess hall, he seems to get a bit grumpy until he gets his coffee. After his sip, he sat up more and began digging into his food. All was well to Max now. I felt a rush of cold air run down my spine. The sudden chill made me rub the back of my neck and lean my head to the side, trying to warm up the patch of now cold skin on my body. Trent looked up at me when I moved my head; his face was a face of pure confusion. However, he wasn't looking at me.

"Uh… Blanchard… there's something blue behind you." Trent spoke out, still staring at whatever was behind me. Polanski and Max both look up and spoke in perfect unison.

"Whoa…"

I looked at the all three of them, and then I began to slowly turn my head to what they were looking at.

This is where the weird stuff begins.

My head turns, seeing at the back of a girl's head. This sight would've been normal if there wasn't a streak of blue running down a few lochs of her hair. The rest of the girls at the table looked over at me, noticing that our table was looking at the strange sight we all saw. I didn't bother to see what sort of looks they were giving me. I was too focused on this girl in question. I notice her ear twitched slightly as she turn her head slowly towards us. She turned in her chair, facing us completely. Instead of her eyes glancing at the others, they were fixed onto me. A few lochs of her black hair came down across her face, also being the vibrant blue color like the ones on the back of her head. To put things terribly blunt. She was gorgeous. Even with the blue streak, she seemed to just shine. She had bright blue eyes, brighter blue than her hair. Her skin was a creamy white color, making her eyes and her hair streak stand out more. Her eyes still locked onto mine, she broke the silence by speaking.

"It's not polite to stare you know."

All four of us at my table seemed to all look away, trying to cover the fact we were embarrassed. My body however, didn't turn away. My eyes looked back to hers. She lifted her hand up to me for a shake.

"I'm Saphiria Rose. Nice to meet you."

Trent was right, she was definitely from England. She had a thick English accent. Without hesitation nor control, my hand raised and shook hers gently. My eyes still locked onto hers. My lips opened as words seemed to just fall out.

"Uh… I'm Michael Blanchard… Nice to meet you as well Saphiria."

Still a little lost in this sudden introduction, I hear Polanski's voice speak out from behind me.

"I'm Andrew…" -SMACK-

Polanski's voice was silenced by Max slapping him upside the head once again, but this time, giving him a warning glance. Polanski and Max began whispering back and forth to each other, probably Polanski asking why he was hit this time.

Saphiria saw what happened and reacted with a small smile. The Alpha company commander shouted fall out, making the girls at their tables get up and bring their trays to the dish window at the rear of the mess hall. Saphiria's eyes glanced back to me briefly as she started to get up and bring up her tray with the rest of her table.

"See you later Michael." She said as if it was a promise. It sent chills up my spine as I could say nothing back but just nod and turn back around to my table.

Trent was still staring at her as she walked away. Polanski began to chuckle lightly after looking at my face.

"See you later Michael. Haha!" Polanski mimicked her voice as he began laughing once again at the look on my face. I reacted by kicked him hard in the shin from under the table.

"Ow… fuck… That hurt man." Polanski reached down rubbing his leg. Trent and Max were still in awe over what just happened. Trent suddenly spoke up after blinking a few times.

"What just happened…?"

None of us responded. We were all just looking at her as she left the mess hall with the rest of the girls. Saphiria looked at me once again as she walked out of the mess hall. The instant she left, Polanski hopped out of his seat, slamming his fists onto the table.

"What the hell was that man?!" Polanski asked in utter confusion. The rest of us just looked back and forth between each other. I looked down at the table, blinking a few times, trying to figure out what just happened. Max spoke up, trying to reply to Polanski.

"I think that was the new girl… and I think the new girl has the hotts for Blanchard… "

No one hit him for that comment. I had half a mind to believe him, but there was something else. I felt a familiar shiver travel up my spine, but I couldn't place it… I racked my brain trying to figure out what I was feeling, but nothing came to mind. I kept at it in my head, ignoring my meal in front of me. Then, I was snapped back to reality by the sound of my company commander's voice.

"Golf, trays up!"

I jumped in my seat from the sudden noise. I shook my head and looked down at my tray to see half of my food was still there. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back while making a groaning noise. I muttered as I leaned back.

"Fuck… I'm still hungry…"

I brought my head back up, grabbed my tray, got up, and brought it to the tray window. I dumped the rest of the food into the trash, handing my tray over to the mess hall lady on the other side. I sighed as I walked out of the mess hall and into formation. Within a few moments after falling in, the formation was made and we marched off to get ready for classes. Oh joy…

I tried to get my mind off meeting Saphiria, but it was too difficult. By the time I snapped out of it, we already made it back to the barracks and fell out of formation. I hurried upstairs, got to my room, brushed my teeth, and grabbed my books and head off to my first period of the day. As I was heading back down the stairs, I hear a voice call out from behind me.

"Hey! Michael!"

I froze up; it was a girl's voice.

"_Please God no… not her already… I just got my mind off"_ I was screaming inside my thoughts. I turned around to see a different girl, smiling as she approached me. I silently sigh in relief as the girl came closer.

"How're you Michael?" The girl's voice chimed in my ear gently, snapping me back to reality once more.

"Oh… I'm doing fine Alison… just hungry. I didn't finish my breakfast." I finished with another sigh, my stomach growling at me when I mentioned food.

Oh, and the girl is Alison Porter. She's a squad leader in Alpha Company. She's a pretty cute gal to put things bluntly. She's had the biggest crush on me since I arrived at the school, but I wasn't interested in her. She was the scene girl that everyone seemed to like. I was the quiet newcomer with rank and a bit of an attitude. I thought about trying to date her once… but I thought about it again and convinced myself it wasn't a good idea. She was far too clingy and she didn't like half the things I was interested in. We didn't have much in common, so I never made the move on her. Wish I could say the same about her…

"Oh that's a shame. You're gunna be really hungry later. Ready for Major Kim's class?"

I shrugged as I began walking down the hallway, heading for my first class. Alison was in first period with me, it wasn't much of an issue, and she never pushed too much on me at one time. She just enjoyed mentioning that she liked me subtly during whatever time she has to talk to me. Namely, during Major Kim's class. I shrugged as I replied to her.

"Oh yeah… so ready for Chemistry… I'll live though… Just I'm having a pretty rough morning as it is. Did you do Major Kim's homework?"

Alison nodded, answering my question as we made it to him classroom, I moved so she could enter first. She headed towards our lab table. I followed her in and nodded to Major Kim in a silent greeting. He nodded back without a word.

Major Kim is the only Asian teacher in the school. He's Japanese, so he's pretty intense when it comes to homework and the class in general. His English was very good. He didn't have much of an accent or anything, so it was no problem to follow him in class.

I sat down at the center of the lab table in the rear of the classroom. Alison took her seat right next to me. Each table could fit three people. My lab table was one short due to the assign seats.

I pulled out my notebook and textbook, setting them both on the table before. I place my head in my hand and close my eyes to try to relax before class began. A few minutes passed by before the bell rang loudly throughout the school. I kept my head down, really tired still from losing sleep from the night before. Major Kim spoke up to the class that seemed to all rush in when the bell rang.

"All right guys, before we begin, we have a new arrival."

Still facing my head down at the table, my eyes shoot open. Major Kim continued.

"I would like you all to meet Ms. Rose. She's a new student. Help her out as much as you can so she can catch up with the rest of you. Now Ms. Rose… please go sit in the open seat in the back of the class."

My head shoots up as I make eye contact with Saphiria, her eyes once again locked onto mine as she nodded to Major Kim and started to walk her way towards me. My eyes were still watching hers as I mutter something under my breath.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me…"

End of Chapter 3. Nice cliff-hanger eh? Hope you all enjoyed it. Review, harass, whatever you deem worthy of the story so far. Chapter 4 will be up as soon as I can get it. Thanks ya'll.


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